Great Britain -- Social life and customs -- 18th century
That thousands flocked to these charlatans is undoubted, for Dr.
George Winter (above quoted) says, ‘It was credibly reported that
3,000 persons have attended at one time, to get admission at Mr.
Loutherbourg’s, at Hammersmith; and that some persons sold their
tickets for from One, to Three Guineas each.’ And this is corroborated
by crazy Mary Pratt. ‘Report says three Thousand People have waited
for Tickets at a time. For my own part, the Croud was so immense that
I could with difficulty gain the Door on Healing Days, and I suppose,
upon conviction, Report spoke Truth.’ De Loutherbourg charged nothing
for his cures, and Mary Pratt is extremely scandalized at those who,
having received a ticket gratis, sold them from two to five guineas.
Many cases are given in her book of the cures effected by this
benevolent couple; how the blind were made to see, the deaf to hear,
the lame to walk, or the dumb to speak--nay, could even cast out
devils--as the following testimonial will show.
‘The second case I shall mention is that of a woman possessed with Evil
Spirits, her name Pennier, lives at No. 33 Ogle Street, Mary-le-bone,
near Portland-Chapel; her husband lives with the French Ambassador:
her case was too terrific to describe; her eyes and mouth distorted,
she was like a Lunatic in every sense of the word; she used to say
that it was not her voice that spoke, but the devil in her. In short,
her case was most truly distressing, not only to her family, but the
neighbourhood; she used to invite people in with apparent civility,
then bite them, and scratch like a cat; nay, she would beg a pin of
women, and then scratch them with it, &c., &c., &c.’
‘Mrs. De Loutherbourg, a lady of most exquisite sensibility and
tenderness, administered to this Mrs. Pennier; she daily amended, and
is now in her right mind, praising God, who has through his servant
performed such an amazing cure, to the astonishment of hundreds who saw
her and heard her.’
Mrs. De Loutherbourg’s system of cure was extremely simple, as this
example will show: ‘Mrs. Hook, Stable Yard, St. James’s, has two
daughters, born Deaf and Dumb. She waited on the Lady above mentioned,
who looked on them with an eye of benignity, and healed them. (I heard
both of them speak.)’
Her husband’s plan was rather more clumsy. He imposed hands. ‘A
News-Carrier at Chelsea cured of an Abscess in his Side. Mr. De
Loutherbourg held his hand on the Abscess half a minute, and it broke
immediately.’
Perhaps these cures were not permanent, for ‘Mr. De Loutherbourg told
me he had cured by the blessing of God, two Thousand since Christmas.
But, as our Lord said, of the ten healed, one only returned to thank
him; so many hundreds have acted, that have never returned to Mr. De
Loutherbourg.’
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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